Clutch mechanism.



PATENTED JUNE 30, 1908.

L. AFOASGRAIN. CLUTCH MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 23,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

i LOUIS OASGRAIN, Ol" WINCHESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO UNITED SHOE MA- CHINERY COMPANY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

CLUTCH MECHANISM.

To all whom it may concern:

Y Be it known that 1, LOUIS A. CASGRAIN, a citizen ofthe United States, residing at Winchester, county .ofMiddlesex, State of Massachusetts, have invented an 1m rove ment in Clutch Mechanism, of which t- 1e following description, in connection with the.

accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts.

" This invention relates to the general organization' of a clutch mechanism and is designed to provide means for throwing the clutch members. either into or out of enga ement promptly and with precision at t e will of the operator.

Clutches embodying this invention may be ap lied to many types of machines and they' ave proven especially adaptable to boot and shoe machinery. A single form of the improved clutch 1s shown in connection witha shoe machine in an original application filed September 26, 1899, Serial No.

, 731,698, of which the present application is a machine shown in said original application,-

division. For the purposes ofthe specific the clutch mechanism embodying this invention was employed in communicating motion'to a shaft which was desired to be rotated. The following description will be devoted to this particular species of use of the clutch though obviously the invention is not limited to such use.

A clutch mechanism made in accordance with this invention combinesmany advan- -himself supply the force which positively throws the clutcinbut hemerely releases another source of energy whichitsclf', being immediately responsive, autoi'natically effects the throw of the clutch. This is true relative to throwing the clutch members Specification of Letters Patent.

a pulse, whence it arises that the communica- Patented June 30, 1908.

731,698. Divided and this application filed February Serial No. 18,393.

both into and out of engagement. Obviously the action of an automatic mechanical. clutch-throwing instrumentality is much more precise and decisive than would be the action of any sort of manually applied imtion of uniform motion from the active driving member of the clutch to the passive driven member, according to this invention, is completed accurately and almost instane taneously, eliminating the usual intermediate period of variant motion caused by imperfect or incomplete engagement of, the clutch members; and likewise the communication of motion is interrupted in an equally effective manner. However irregular or vacillant may be the release of the clutch-throwing instrumentalities, they themselves, when permitted to act, act uniformly so that the effect upon the operation of the machine is always the same. 1

The automatic clutch-throwing instrumentalities, as shown in the accompanying drawings for purposes of explanation, consist of two mechanical motors(hereinafter, for convenience, designated springs), one of which serves directly to engage the clutch members,the other serving indirectly to release them. These springs, as shownherein, perform their clutchthrowing o'llices by causing the shift of one of the clutch members axially on a shaft toward and from the other clutch member. The manner in .which their respective forces are applied automatically to effect this shifting is of im= portance. it has been a common expedient to effect an axial displacement of one of the clutch members from the other by means ofa rotating cam, carried by the member tb be displaced, and a relatively rigid pin, or the like, projected into the path of the cam at the appropriate moment to cause the cam to shift axially on its shaft. Also an arrangement has been used wherein a cam is sup ported independently of the clutch member and is applied to some part rigid with said member, the effect being substantially the same. In either of 'the cases here suggested the initial force exerted through the cam has a direction perpendicular to'the acting sur face of the cam which is commonly Obll( ue to the shaft. A single componcnt of this force is effective to shift the member axially,

t. p e. the component parallel to the axis.

- this frictionw' so wear thebearingsurfaces Other advantages residing in a clutch after referred to; a

For convenience in description, the mech- "anism of the specific clutch shown in the drawingsmay be divided into four parts; to

127, a passive driven member 103, a clutch- 7 through its hub 122 so that when said driven a tendency to bind on its shaft and the friction. The present invention obviates this serious difficulty by applying force auto- ,matically to the memberto be "shifted in a single direction, "i,. 'e. substantially in the "appear hereinafter in the description of a 'With' a'shaft in cross-section, showing I passive driven member and clutch-releasing s5 of Fig.1, viewed from the right. Fig Sis a.

drawings (see Fig. 2). For the purposes of .the machine shownin the aforementioned shown herein as having the passive driven member the motion-is communicatedto the and axially movable on the shaft.

The remainder of the force exerts atorsional effect upon all the parts concerned including the bearin surfaces of the clutch member and its sha t. Thereby said member is given tional resistance offered to'its shifting and to its rotation is reatlyaugmented. In time as to cause uneven, untrue rotation thereon which diminishes m a great degree the eflectiveness and accuracy of the clutchs operadirection of .the shifting movement of the member. Thus the member is acted upon positively by a single force, automatically, a plied, all of which is efiec'tive to move theember in the desired direction [without involving, any material torsional tendency.

mechanism embodying this invention will devices; Fig...2 is a section on the line acm section on the line as of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a side view'of one of themechanical details of i the clutch mechanism. Fig. .5 is a sectional detail'on' the line 30 1g. 1', to be herein-- wit";-ashafts", an active driving member engaging motor spring. 119, and a clutchreleasing device comprising a lever 0 0 and other parts associated withit.

' The shaft 0" .is =journaled-in suitable bearings b only-oneof which is shown in the original application, a shaft was desired to be rotated and accordingly the-shaft c -is clutch member 103 fixed 'rigidly thereto member receives motion fromthe driving shaft.

The active driving member 127 is conveniently given theform of a pulley rotatable This pul- 'mem or 127 and the shaft 0".

Joy constitutes the intermediary which re-,

,ceives power fromany suitable source (as through a running belt) and applies it, when permitted by the clutch, to'the operation of the machine. A frusto-conical clutch-surface on the pulley 127 cooperates with the correspondingly shaped cl'utch surface on the passive driven member 103 to drive said driven member when the clutch is engaged. The manner-in which the driving memben v127 is'carried on the shaft, in this particular,

embodiment of the invention, is of importance. Theclutch is thrown into or out of engagement byimovingthe clutch members toward or from each other and accordingly (the driven memberbeing, in this instance rigid with the shaft) it is important that. the

driving member be given axial movement. The driving member being continually rotated it must also have rotary movement about the shaft. If the same bearin' surfaces supported these .two motions, as, or example, if the driving member were seated'directly on the shaft, the two motions would conl. ct

wheneverthe clutch is thrown, setting upa compounded spiral motion, and all the Wear and abrasion caused thereby would be borne alone bythe shaft. This .is avoided by the present arrangement wherein a sleeve 126 is inter. osed. between the hub of the-driving This sleeve may befree to rotate or move axially on the moving otherwise than axially, and as. it so shaft, but it will normally be retarded from moves it .will convey the driving member .With it since the driving member is prevented from having any material axial movement "on the sleeve by the flan e 1-25 of the sleeve andv a collar. 152 present y to be described.

In this manner the adjacent bearing surfaces of the shaft and sleeve support all materialv freely rotatable on the sleeve and hence the adjacent bearing surfaces of the sleeve' and driving membersupport all material rotary [110" motion; It is evident that-all compounding axial movement. The driving member is a of conflicting movements is hereby avoided and each movement is facilitated by, reason of meeting with minimum resistance; This provision is also of importance in connection with the manner of causing theax'ialmovement referred to above, as will be later explained.

The passive driven member 108, for reasons already set forth,- is in this particular embodiment of. the invention rigid with the,

rier for a clutch-releasin link in the form'of a pusher 121 which is aXia ly movable in a suitable seat preferably extendinglfrom face to ment by being supported throughout the greater part ofits length. 'This pusher 121 IS the intermediary between the'clutch-re'.-,

12o" shaft 6 The driven member-as shown 1's conveniently arranged to constituterthe' carface of the hub 122 so that'the pusher may be; precluded from any material lateral 'move- 125. Thus the pusher is aloose link normally adapted for rectilinear motion onlyrelative to the flange 125, for when the pusher remains at rest the flange is likewise stationary, and immediately either .the flange or pusher begins to rotate, the other rotates concurrently. It is evident that any clutchthrowing force exerted through the pusher 121 is transmitted to the flange 125, and therethrough to the driving member, in a single direction, and it will be noted that this direction is substantially the same direction in which it is desired tomove the driving member. Consequently all the force transmitted through the pusher is efiective to per- 1 form its intended function, howeverthe initial force applied to the .pusher may have been first resolved by reason of having been exerted through a cam or the like. The

-' flange 125 is preferably formed integral with the sleeve 126 but obviously this is not essential.

The s ring 119, constituting a form of-mechanica clutch-engaging motor, encircles the shaft 0 between two collars 153 and 152.

i The collar 153 is split (see Fig. 4) and is positioned rigidly onv the shaft by means of a clamp screw. The collar 152 is loose on the shaft but is normally motionless relative thereto by reason of the tension exerted by thespring. The collar 153 is the rigid abutment against which the spring acts. The force ofthe spring is applied through the col 'lar 152 which is"constantly held thereby against the adjacent end of the sleeve 126; and which projects far-enough beyond the sleeveto embrace the end-of the hub of the The spring 119 tendscon force, whenunimpeded, 'is great enough to effect a secure engagement of the clutch.

In orderto release the clutch it isnecessary to move the driving member 127 axially.

, againstthe force of the motor spring 119.

This is e ected automatically, when initiated 'by' the operator, by the clutch-releasing devices comprising particularly a controlling lever 0 0 and a clutch-releasing mot'or spring 0 (see Fig. 1).

' The controlling lever 0 0 1s p voted on a.

suitable stud c rigid with some part b of the frame, and a treadle rod 0 is attached to the outer arm .0 to permit the lever to be controlled through a treadle'or the like. The arm 0 30f the lever 0 ,0 carries a curved finger 101. The finger 1 01 has'a can) 120 on its side adjacent" to the hub 122 of the driven member. As the lever 0 a is rocked clockwise about its pivot,'as shown in Fig. 1, the cam is protruded into the rotary path of the outer end of the pusher 121. During its rotation the end of the pusher will impinge upon this cam which, being obliqnely'disposed relative to the pusher, is adapted to give the latter the axial movement which moves the flange 125 against the spring 119 and thereby releases the clutch. It is frequently desirable tostop the rotation of the driven memher at such a point that the action of the machine will be arrested. at a predetermined stage in its cycle of operations, To this end the hub 1220f the driven member is provided with a depression 132-. Cooperating with 'the'hub is a lug 133' rigid with the finger 101;

When the lug 133 is riding on theprOjectin'g face of the hub 122 the cam 120,0n the finger 101 is maintained out ofthe path of the pusher 121 and is'thereby prevented from reeasing the-clutch; but when the Mg 133 engages the depression 132 the finger 1'01 moves toward the shaft into. the path of the'pusher which is thereupon given its prescribed rectilinear movement to shift the flange 125 and thereby release the clutch. The lug 133 and depression 132 may be relatively arranged to stop the-machine'at any desired point. In

order that the momentum of the rotating parts may not carry the operation of the machine beyond the desired oint, it is convenient to provide a brake w iich shall act as a check at the appropriate moment.- Vith this in view a portion of thehub 122 of the driven member 103 is encircled b a-brake band 84 which when drawn tightly t ereabout exerts a friction which is enough tooppose the momentum of the moving arts and stop the machine. end to a pin 44 carried by the lever arms, and at the other end to a suitable ad'ustable stud 100 fixed to anarmc of the lever c (see Fig.1). As the lever armc is rocked toward the shaft 0", thestud 44* is moved'at a speed lfaster than the arm 0 and thus operates in con'unction'withthe-arm.0 to tighten the brake and and when the lever takes its final step in this direction, by reason of the coaction oflug 133 and depression 132, the effect is s imultanously to release the'clutch as above described and to apply'the :linal tightening pull' to the brake band. Evidently this is an effective arrangement for securing an accurate arrest of'thc machine at a predetermined point.

The action ofthe clutch-releasing motor spring 0 when'allowed totake its normal course, is to negative indirectly the efl'e'cto'l the clutch-engaging tendency ofthe motor spring 119. The spring c introduces the cam on the finger 101 into the rotarypath of the end of the pusher 121, and the momentum of the pusher and its $11 port slide the pusher along the face of sai cam and thereby move said pusher endwise in its The brake ban is attached at one l seat against the flange 125 to oppose and overpower the spring 119. While it may be component which is permitted to act on they driving member acts 111 the same direction in which said member is to be moved. When the arm 0 is rota-ted away from shaft 0 (as by being depressed through a treadle rod- 0 the effect of the spring 0 will be negatived, the clutch-releasing instrumentalities operates in general as follows.

will be withdrawn from operation, and the s ring 119 will be left free to engage the c utch automatically.

The above described clutch mechanism Normally the clutch is in released position when the operator is not exercising his control; the lever arms 0 and 0 are at the limit of their motion toward the shaft 0"; the cam 120 on the finger 101 is in engagement with the pusher 121 which is held forcibly against the ange 125 in opposition to the spring 119 to separate the driving member 127from the (lI'1VeI1 member 103. The lug v133 is in the position on the depression 132 where it rested when the machine was last stopped. The brake band 84 is drawn tightly about the hub 122'by the s ring p acting through the lever arm a. T e driving member alone is rotating upon the sleeve 126, said sleeve and all the other parts remainingstationary. If now the o erator depress the arm 0 the arm 0 will be rotated away from the shaft 3 freein the pusher 121 and permitting it to be us ed backby the flange 125 under the in uence of the now unimpededmotor spring 119. Simultaneously the motor springl 19 acts upon the driving member '127 to press it into close association with the driven member 103 whereu on the frictional engagement of their clutc -surfaces forces the driven member to accommodate itself at once to the rotation of the driving member. Immediately the shaft 0 and sleeve 126 begin to rotate concurrently with the two main clutch members. At this stage all the parts are rotatin When it is desired to stop the machine, the operator frees the arm 0 The arm 0 is moved toward the shaft by the .motor spring a. If the lug 133 strikes on the surface of; the hub the cam 120'on the fin er 101 is prevented from touchin the pus er 121. As soon however as the fug 133 can coact with the de ression 132 the arm 0 reaches the limit 0 its operative movement toward. the.

moment that the positive drive of the driving member is removed, the brake 84 is a plied to counteract the momentum of t e parts so that the driven member is brought to a sudden standstill, though without any material shock. At this 125 is evident. If the flange were not interposed between the pusher 121 and the driv- 1-I'1g member, that is to say, if the action of the pusher were applied directly to the drivoint the impor- 'tance of some such provision as the flange mg member, the pusher when stationary would be in constant frictional contact with the driving member and would be maintained therein by the normal action of, the spring 0 and. arm 0 This frictional contact would commence as soon as the speed of the driven member decreased below t at of the driving 'member, and subsequently the friction wouldincrease until it reached its maximum when the 'driven .member became stationary. Thus the arrest of the driven member would be rendered. much more difficult and the two relatively moving contacting parts would be subjected to a very destructive wear. The introduction of the flange 125 removes these d'ficulties because the driving member will merely ride free on its bearings and will not have any localized frictional contact such as it would have with the head of the eccentrically.ar ranged pusher. The fact that the flange is employed in cooperation with the sleeve 126 results in an important advantage. When the clutch is released the driving member is removed from normal lateral contact with any portion of the clutch and rides free with little friction on its bearings. The driving member is entirely independent of the driven member except througi sleeve so that minimum resistance is offered to sto ping the driven member. Only one embo iment of the invention is shown herein, and it will be obvious that many changes in the construction of the parts mightbe made without de arting from the invention.

Having 'descri ed my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is I 1-. In a device of the class described, a shaft, a member loose thereon, a second member rigid with the shaft, an automaticallyactuated disengaging device carried by one of the members and slidable there-- through to eflect' the disengagement of said members.

.2. A shaft, a member loose thereon, a second member rigid with the shaft, means tending to effect operative en agement of said members to rotate thesha t, and autovsemen matically actuated means carried in said rigid. member adapted to effect the disengagementof said members.

' 3. A shaft, a loose member on the shaft, a member rigid with the shaft, means tending to effect operative engagement of said members'torotate the shaft, a disengaging device slidably mounted in the rigid member, and means to operate said device positively to release said members.

4. A shaft, a member fixed to the shaft, a sleeve movable on the shaft, a loose member carried on the sleeve, and means mounted in I the fixed member for moving the sleeve to permit the disengagement of said members.

- 5. A shaft, a member-fixed to the shaft, a sleeve slidable on the shaft, a loose member carried on the sleeve, means'tending to effect controller to govern the operation of said Side of the iriving member, to force it into' said shaft at one means tendmgto effect (lIlVlIU- disengaging means;

. 7 A shaft to be rotated, having a fixed pulley thereon, a loose pulley mounted on side of the fixed pulley, enga ement of said pulleys, means carried by t e fast pulley to effect. the release of said pulleys rorn driving en agement, and a manually actuated controller to govern the operation of said disengaging means.

- 8; A shaft having a fixed pulley, a loose ulley mounted-on said shaft at one side of the fixed pulley,-a sliding sleeve within the hub of the loose pulley and surrounding the shaft, anexpandlng spring surrounding the shaft at the outer end of the loose pulley, to

force said pulleys into driving engagement, and means to move the sleeve tocompress the spring andthereby permit withdrawal of the loose from the fixed pulley.

9. A shaft'to be rotated, a member to be I driven fixedly connected with and to rotate the shaft, a longitudinally movable sleeve loosely mounted on the latter, a driving member the hub whereof loosely surrounds the sleeve, s ring-acting means at the outer driving enga ement wit-lithe member to be driven,

driven member, and means to operate said I device to move the sleeve to compress the spiingto thereb effect release of the driving ven mem ers.

a releasing device carried by the 10. .A shaft having a fixed pullefy, a pulley loose on said shaft at one sideo t pulley, a sliding sleeve inter osed between the hub of the loose pulley an the shaft, and surrounding the latter, an expanding spring surrounding the shaft at the outer side of the loose pulley to force said pulle s into driving engagement, a pusher carrie by the fixed pulley, and'means to slide said pusher to move said sleeve away from the fixed pulley to thereb compress the "spring to effect the release 0 the two pulleys.

-11. A shaft, a fixed pulley thereon having 'its'hub provided with a recess, a pusher extended through said pulley, a loose pulley, a

spring tending to move the loose pulley into driving engagement with the fixed pulley, a movable sleeve in the loose pulley, and a lever having a lug to enter the recess of the hub, said lever when its lug enters the recess being positioned to move the pusher to actuate the sleeve and thereby compress the spring, to free the loose pulley from the fixed u e "lil A'dri'ving member, a member to be driven, a shaft rotatable therewith, a spring to\move one of said members laterally to I effect operative engagement with the other member to rotate the shaft, means carried by one of said members to compress the spring to permit disengagement of the driving and driven members, and a controlling device for said means, operative automatically in one.

direction toefl'ect compression of thespring, and operative manually in the other dlrect on to render said means inoperative when operative engagement of the driving and driven members is to be effected.

'13. A clutch mechanism having, in combination, clutch members, two automatic clutch-throwing instrumentalities, arranged to cause respective forces to shift one of said clutch members axially; and means for applying eaclrof said forces to said clutch member in that direction only in which said member is to be moved.

14. A clutch mechanism having, in combination, a mechanical motor for engaging the clutch; a second mechanical motor for causing the release of the clutch and means whereby the respective forces, set in operation by said motors, are applied to act on the clutch in opposite directions only and axially of the clutch.

15. A clutch mechanism having, in combination, a mechanical motor for engaging the clutch; a mechanical motor for causing the release of the clutch; means intermediate said motors whereby one of said motors normally negatives the action of the other; and

axially of the clutch.

16. A clutch mechanism having,in combination, a driving member and a driven member, said members being adapted to be separated or united respectively to release or engage the clutch; amechanical motor which causes the separation of said members by a force which is finally applied in that direction only in which the separation is to take place; and means for uniting said members y a force which acts only in the direction in which the parts are moved to be united.

17. A clutch mechanism having, in combination, clutch members; means supplying an initial force to move one of said members; a link intermediate said means and said member, upon which said initial force is exerted,

said intermediate link being arranged to transmit but one component of said initial force to said member.

18. A clutch mechanism having, in combination; clutch members; a motor supplying an initial force to move one of said members;

means intermediate the motor and said mem' her which transmit to said member but one component of said initial force, said component acting in the direction in which the movement of said member is to take place. 19. A clutch mechanism having, in combination, clutch members of which one can be shifted; a shifting device independent of said member for controlling the shift thereof in either direction; and means for applying a force to said shifting device to shiftsaid member.

20. A clutch mechanism having, in combination, clutchmembers; automatically 0 Verative means for applying a force to shift one of saidmembers, a shifting device intermed ate sald means and said member which controls the shift of said member, the forceapplied by said means being exerted on said slnfting device alone in the direction i which the member is to be moved. 21. A clutch mechanism having, in combination, a shaft; a clutch member on said shaft; a sleeve axially movable-on said shaft;

a second clutch member rotatable on said sleeve; and means for shifting said second clutch member by applying a force to said sleeve in the direction 111 which said member is to be shifted.

22. A-clutch mechanism having, in combination, a shaft; a"clu'tch'member on the shaft; a sleeve on the shaft; a second clutch member rotatable on the sleeve; and means for moving said second clutch member by applying foi'ceto said sleeve.

23. A clutch mechanism having, in combination, a driving member; a member to be driven; a shaft to sup ort said members; a flange loose on said s aft intermediate the said members; clutch-engaging means; and clutch-releasing means which act on said flange to release the-clutch..

24. A clutch mechanism having, in combination, clutch members; a shaft to support said members; a sleeve on the shaft, intermediate the shaft and one member, which controls ,the release and .engagement of the clutch; an automatic clutch engaging instrumentality acting on one end of said sleeve to engage the clutch; and automatically actuated means, rotatable normally only in consonance With the sleeve, for moving the v sleeve to release the clutch.

2.5. A clutch mechanism having, in combination, an active driving member; a assive driven member; a shaft to support saic members; a sleeve on the shaft, intermediate the shaft and driving member, which controls the release and engagement of the clutch; an

automatic clutch engaging instrumentality acting on the hub of said active driving member to engage the clutch; and automatically actuated means, rotatable normally only in consonance with the sleeve, for moving said sleeve in a direction to release the clutch, said means acting upon said sleeve in that direction only in which the sleeve is moved thereby.

' 26. A clutch mechanism having, in combination, an active driving member; a assive driven member; a shaft to support sai men1-- 27.. A clutch mechanismhaving in combi nation, clutch members arranged to be so arated or united to throw the .clutch'out' 0 or into engagement, a shaft to support .said' members; a sleeve intermediate said shaft and one of the members; said 'sleeve being arranged to control the axial movement of said member and to rotate normallyonlyin consonance with theother member; anautomatlc clutch engaging mstrumentahty WlllCll exerts a force on said sleeve in one direction only; an automatic clutch releasing mistrumentality, under the control of the operator,

which automatically causes an initial force to be exerted to release the clutch; and means whereby the action of Sitltl'; initial force is applied to said sleeve in one direction only.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

LOUIS A'GASGRAlN.

Witnesses: 1

GEO. W. GREGORY, vEDITH. M. STODDARD.

ids 

